My blog is my Zen space where I create my own stories, write reviews and other thoughts. Thanks for reading... If you have any feedback, comment, compliment please do share... Would love to hear from you.
My dear friends... many of you are aware that my latest book, titled 'Treacherous Desires' was launched recently.
To give readers a visual blurb, I have created my first video for my book trailer. I am looking for some kind feedbacks on same. Please have a look below and share your views.
Lots of Love.
And if by any chance the book intrigues you, feel free to grab a copy too... :P
'Distance makes the heart grow fonder,' it is a very valid saying. Same happened with me when I left India and moved to Johannesburg for two years assignment.
I never realized how much I loved my country until I stepped outside. I never cherished it before but within a few days I started missing everything about India - food, culture and even the polluted smells, funny isn't it.
Yes I was missing India but I was not grateful to be an Indian, not until one day. And that day changed my perspective totally.
The team I worked with had ten members. Eight were South Africans, one was Zimbabwean and one Indian i.e. Me. We were sitting at a lunch table when suddenly the topic of relationships came into discussion. Everybody started discussing about their partners and family.
One of the guys in my team spoke, 'my wife and I treat each other every Saturday. She treats one weekend I treat next. She earns more than me so every time it's her turn to pay I force her to go to some fancy place, but on my turn we go to some burger joint' everyone laughed loudly but I was too stunned to laugh. 'What kind of marriage is this?' I wondered but I ignored.
Next girl narrated a story about how she refused to pay for her mother's bill at a shop... her mother forgot her wallet and that girl refused to pay saying - 'I know you wont pay me back'. Most people sympathized with her saying how mothers try to rip them off but I couldn't understand. I asked her what was the amount she said 20 Rand i.e. Rs. 100... Her words shook me to core. What kind of kids are these, her mother paid for everything till she was old enough to earn and she can't even pay a minuscule amount... Wow!
It was getting really hard for me to sit but I had to... it was my team and I was already the odd-one-out person there. Seeing my reaction they turned their focus on me.
'You are married?' a girl asked.
'Yes,' I replied with a smile.
'How much did you sign prenup for?' I was stunned by the question alone.
'What do you mean?'
'You must have signed a prenup, right?' another guy asked.
'Of course not!' I felt stung by the question.
'How do you divide all the money?'
'We both earn and spend one person's salary. This way we control our expenses and save.' I replied proudly.
'I hope you are spending his salary. You won't want him running away with your money,' the first guy laughed.
'It is not his money or my money, it is OUR money' I explained lightly, hoping the topic is dismissed soon.
'I would never marry without a prenup. What if he bleeds me dry and dumps me,' a girl panicked.
I wanted to ignore the comments but the last statement just flipped me, 'we don't marry in India in anticipation of getting a DIVORCE. We marry one person, we love only one person and spend eternity with that one person. I love my husband and he loves me. That is all we need.' I replied a little heated. I was angry, how dare they say all this rubbish about my marriage. If they are not loyal its their problem.
Of course I left after this and my Zimbabwean friend (my only friend there) followed me. He had grown up in South Africa and knew this part of world. However I, was an outsider. He explained how Indians and Zimbabweans are so different and loyal to their partners. He also explained how our values mattered to us, unlike others.
And it was in that moment I was glad to be an Indian. It was in that moment I realized the love I held for my family and importance it held for me. It was in that moment I realized I was more Indian than I ever thought to be. And how much I love India and am grateful to my beloved nation and its vital traditions. One might say that this didn't help me succeed, but if we look around the globe, being Indian makes more marriages and lives a success than anywhere else in the world.
And just like I understood it back then, Lufthansa is helping understand the world, how India is growing and having global influence through its wonderful TV commercial. #MoreIndianThanYouThink
My dear friends... My latest book 'Treacherous Desires' has been launched recently. And I would like to introduce you all to the same...
Treacherous Desires, although it falls under romance genre, but it is not just an everyday love story, instead it is a dilemma. Dilemma that Kaya faces each day of her life.
Kaya is a modern age girl with everything perfect - job, husband and life – well on the outside. She loves her husband very much however deep down she knows her marriage is failing and she tries everything to save it but… Daksh, her husband as well loves her very much but still… unable to contain their marriage and love they hold, Kaya finds herself helpless and extremely frustrated.
Things really go haywire when she meets a stranger -Shaun, who is not only attractive but also everything Kaya is missing in her life. Things turn worse when he too falls hard for her.
His smile wreaks havoc and touch causes chaos. Kaya doesn’t know what to do, she tries really hard not to fall for him but she has a void that now only he can fill.
Torn between her failing marriage and the man who is irresistible, Kaya now has the hardest choice to make. Of course she wants her marriage more than anything else but we usually don’t get what we want.
Whom will she choose? Will she be able to reignite the spark in her marriage or will she initiate a completely new relationship?
Find out more in this roller coaster ride of love, seduction, desires, passion and epic romance – which neither lets you ignore nor lets you endure.
Yes, treacherous desires is a dilemma, dilemma of a girl who doesn’t know what to do. But it is also a romance that will make your toes curl and wish for something similar.
People always ask me, why did I name my book ‘treacherous desires’? Is it erotica?
Well it is not an erotic novel but yes it definitely is 12+, (given my kids mature too soon these days). It is an endearing romance which definitely will take you on a fantasy trip that will make you long for same now and ever.
I named it treacherous desire because no girl wants to have feelings for other man, but they creep in, they are in all manners treacherous whom she is unable to avoid.
Please also ask me what inspired me to write this? Is it my personal life?
And I answer a big NO. No, unlike Kaya I am very happy both inside and outside in my marriage. The inspiration came from a friend who was suffering just like Kaya. When she confided in me I offered her to write a story where a neglected wife falls for a man. I painted a rather vivid picture and where her husband was not able to understand her spoken/unspoken words, he took in the written version and it worked.
Seeing things working between them I thought why not write a full blown novel on the topic and share it with the world. Maybe others can benefit it too. Hence, with her due permission and dialing down a lot of personal stuff I wrote this whole story.
So my friends, everybody who has a partner who is inattentive and a lot in their phone/laptop should read this. If your partner is so, you can gift this by saying – ‘treacherous desires’ can happen.
I hope you liked the blurb of my book and find it exciting. Please do grab a copy, I can assure you, you wont regret it and once you reach chapter 4, believe me, you wont be able to put it.
A mystery behind seven keys that were passed to seven men
A deadly race against time to seek atonement
On the outskirts of New York City, Jim Morgan, an international bestselling author learns through God that he had committed seven sins in his previous life. Clues lie in the six novels he has written, that would lead him to the mystery. But the novels won’t reveal everything to him. With seven days on hand, he must walk in the direction that faith leads him in, to reach the lost chamber of Seven Planets. Unless Morgan understands the secret behind his past life and the sins he committed, his chance to live will be lost forever.
Review:
First glance at cover and my thought was it looks very interesting... and the topic of seven sins lured me... the said sins are:
Lust
Gluttony
Greed
Sloth
Wrath
Envy
Pride
and unfortunately, Jim Morgan, the protagonist has committed all in his past life... now if it is his past lives we are talking about then how does he know about them in present life? Well surprise! surprise! he is a lucky fellow as God himself visits him and talks to him. They say If you talk to God, you are praying; If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia; but in this case he is as sane as any normal human...
God gives him seven days where he has to find about his past sins else his time is up. It makes you wonder how is that possible? And then comes time travel...
Author, Bharat Madan, has a vivid imagination which makes this book an interesting read. And time travels makes it even more exciting.
Talking about story, it is simple at first but then expands into multiple small stories - looks like a writing trend these days... Anyhow, the stories are linked beautifully (in terms of overall story line) and they are rather fast paced which keeps you on your toes.
The character of Jim Morgan is well portrayed and rest all are just sidekicks and they are explained as needed.
Another factor that I liked about the book is its climax. It comes at a fine pace...
Also, there are no mistakes in the book which also made it even smoother read.
What I didn't like about the book is that it is confusing at times. Especially when time travel takes place. Makes you reread a couple of pages. Which is kind of annoying, given it is a loooong book. Some aspects could have been explained better.
My rating to the book is 4/5. (It is a pretty good read)
You can grab your copy at amazon following below link:
Title:The Day before... I Died (Matryoshka in East) Author:Ashi Kalam Publisher: Notion Press Pages: 99 Price: Rs. 195 My Rating: 2.75/5 Blurb:
Svetlana had never known pure love, till she meets Brajesh...
Brajesh is a fun-loving, mischievous and caring Indian prince who visits Russia and captures Svetlana's heart. He christens her as ""His Matryoshka.""
Once his work gets done, he leaves for India, taking Svetlana's heart with him.
Unable to forget him and confident of his love for her, Svetlana travels to India in search of her prince.
Does she find him? What happens to her love? How does the international politics affect her life?
Inspired by true life incidents, The Day Before... I Died narrates the love between Svetlana - daughter of the infamous dictator Josef Stalin - and Brajesh Singh, an Indian Kunwar.
The murder, trails, betrayals and the hope leads to more agony.
Review:
The cover is beautiful and immediately makes you want to read it... the blurb is interesting too which actually made me get hold a copy of this book... however I found the book rather 'ok-ok'.
Talking about the story line, it touches upon rather big part of history, (note - just touches). Svetlana the lead is Joseph Stalin's daughter - a poor soul who is suffering a life of solitude due to her father.
The story revolves around how Svetlana meets and fall in love with an Indian Kunwar, Brajesh. Love story part is cute but I found narration lacking a bit.
Characters of Svetlana and Brajesh are finely defined but rest all need work.
The ending is decent too, after reading it I could understand the title and its importance.
What I didn't like about the book is - the flow is rather abrupt. Its like it needs serious check. I found things haphazard and it's confusing.
There are some editing issues as well, which needs some work.
Additionally, it is just 100 pager book but marked at Rs. 195. Yes print quality is excellent but given the quality of read, the price as per me is a little too steep.
My rating: 2.75/5 (It is an 'Okay-Okay' read)
The book is available at amazon at below link. You can give it a try.
